Reloading...

I took a full two weeks off after the Berlin Marathon. I didn't even go to the gym so it was the epitome of a "break" from training. I haven't posted my recap yet (I'm working on it) so I won't go into all the details of my need for a full 2 weeks off... but let's just say that it was well needed and I enjoyed my period of rest.

This week is the start of something new...

I'm restarting training this week (so far I've only done one 2 mile run but I'm supposed to run again tomorrow) and easing my way back into full training mode. I've cancelled some of the races I had on the calendar for the rest of the year (i.e. 2 half marathons deferred to next year). And I registered for a shorter race (Hot Chocolate 15K in December) so that I can continue to train but keep my mileage low for now. I'm still running Ragnar (next month) and I was supposed to have low mileage for that race also but we are missing a runner so I may have to pick up a 4th leg that's about 9 miles long. So right now I'm just focusing on getting everything ready for Ragnar (training and otherwise) and then I'll concentrate on my 15K. One race at a time right?

The big news from the past two weeks is that I didn't get in to the London Marathon lottery (which isn't a surprise but still ever so slightly disappointing) so I decided to take advantage of a relatively quiet Spring running calendar and register for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May... 

source

I know a few fellow runners in Pittsburgh so I'm excited about the trip and I'm hoping that doing a Spring marathon next (instead of another Fall one) will turn around my current increasing marathon finish time streak. 

In other news, I received new wall art today...

I spent some time rearranging my medal wall to show case my marathon majors a bit more...

Just three more Majors to go!!!

How much time off do you take after a marathon/half?

Do you prefer Spring or Fall races?

What do you treat yourself to after a major race? (I buy "wall art")